Kid’s digital camera
Although I have read some not-so-good reviews about the Fisher Price digital camera, I have nothing but good things to say about ours! It was a gift to my 3-year-old from his (very forward-thinking) great-grandparents, and it is probably his favorite present of the year. He LOVES it. He takes it with him everywhere – it even came to the zoo with us a couple weeks ago and he took really cool photos of all the animals!
Some of the reviews I’ve read complained about the photos being fuzzy… but I think it’s sort of what you can expect when a 3-year-old is behind the camera. Sometimes the photos are a bit fuzzy, but other times they are pretty good. The camera is great because it’s a good learning tool for kids; it teaches them how to hold the camera steady, click to take a photo, and even how to view the photos on the screen. My son has become quite the little camera whiz!
It’s simple enough for a kid to use, and it’s sturdy enough to endure being dropped from every angle. It’s also easy to upload the photos onto your computer – designed for even the most un-computer savvy of parents.
This reviewer has no complaints!
-Courtney
The Hollandsche Manege
The Hollandsche Manege translates to ‘The Dutch Riding School’, and the manner in which it is spelled (in Dutch) conveys that we are talking about an OLD riding school here. The building, based on the Spanish Riding School in Vienna and located on the Northern edge of the Vondelpark, dates back to 1882 and was meant to serve the recreational needs of the rich and/or aristocrat inhabitants of Amsterdam. Membership was expensive, and you can still tell by the heavy decoration and the feeling of grandeur!
Nowadays you don’t have to be rich or aristocratic to enjoy the Hollandsche Manege… (more…)
Psling
It is generally true that in France you are treated very differently if you are carrying around a cute baby with you. I will never forget a cluster of ladies working in a department store who could not believe me daring to interrupt their conversation to ask the price of a handbag. They started to tell me off for interrupting… until they noticed my daughter strapped to the front of me. They turned from being complete cows to the loveliest, most helpful women! This is how I got to know the power of the baby and the baby sling and I have never looked back!
My husband bought me a Psling in NY a couple years ago, and for me it has worked out as the most comfortable and pretty sling I have seen.
It is made out of lovely cotton material that washes well (mine has been pooped on many a time and washed in a machine) and can be used in lots of different positions from newborn to age two. It is really easy to put on and off which has been great in the last few months with a newborn baby as you don’t have to wake the baby by unstrapping it when you take the sling off.
There is a great Psling shop in NY but you can also order them online.
-Emilie
Heuristic play suggestion
Heuristic play, the game of discovery, is an essential component of each baby’s development. Around 10 months they really start discovering the world around them, and regardless of whether you provide them with some material or not they will start playing with every single “everyday” object they can reach. I’m sure you’ve all opened that bottom drawer in your kitchen full of tupperware and let your baby play for long stretches of time!
Recently I bought two sets of wooden curtain rings (large and small) at the local DIY store and gave them to my daughter together with wooden spoons. She loves them; she chews them, she bangs them together, she throws them on the floor, and she is extremely intrigued when I give them to her all stacked on the spoon – she waves it around like a trophy!
It is quite an inexpensive toy to setup and it can last for a while; the next step will be learning how to put the rings back on the spoon.
-Michela
Cool muslins
For a native Dutch speaker, the word ‘muslin’ is really odd – every time I say it, or write it down without thinking, I say/write ‘muslims’, who are really cool as well, but generally not sold at Ikea…
These three musliN squares are, and have been cheering up my baby’s changing pillow for a while now. The white one is obviously not very special, so that one stays in the nappy bag (or in the closet, if it doesn’t want to come out) but the stripy one I love, and the one with the blue and lime-green animals is my absolute favourite! Something that you should definitely pick up next time you’re at Ikea…
xxx Esther
Snickerdoodles
Whenever I mention the word ’snickerdoodle’ to my friends in Europe, they think I must be talking about some rare breed of dog, or an exotic flower. So, either it’s just an American thing, or possibly something specific to my family…
In any case, snickerdoodles are delicious cookies that go over especially well with kids! Their biggest draw is that they’re fun to make! First you make the dough, and then you have to roll the dough balls in a cinnamon/sugar mix, which is the fun part for kids! We used to beg our mom to make them, just so we could have fun rolling the dough in the sugar (and sneaking a few licks of our fingers when she wasn’t looking)!!
Here is the recipe…
Cute stripy cardigan
I bought this cardigan for my daughter back in June when I visited the Benetton temporary store in Milan that was already selling the autumn-winter collection. Fortunately I didn’t have to wait till the fall to let her wear it since here in the mountains the weather is much cooler than in town.
I am completely in love with it; I think it’s a good balance between sporty (the stripes) and frilly (the rouches at the collar and wristbands). It looks really cool with a pair of denims and a simple white shirt underneath.
Mine is navy and light blue but it also came in two shades of dusty pink, also very cute.
Unfortunately Benetton does not have an online shop so you just have to look at your local store. Just remember the size is on the small side.
-Michela
Inner city kid
I have irrefutable proof that my daughter is a real Parisian city kid. She is a pro at ordering food and drinks in a café and even knows the difference between a crème and a noisette and what kind of coffee to order for her father and me.
But now we are on holiday in the southwest of France and she is definitely out of her comfort zone! She is annoyed when she gets her hands dirty, she is afraid of flies, and don’t even mention a dog. And what shocked me the most was that she only recognized a spider because she had seen one in a book!
It makes me really sad; I had visions of her gallivanting around the fields like a young foal and getting in touch with nature. I am sure not all city kids are scared of animals, but my daughter’s attitude is certainly a symptom of the way she is growing up. (more…)
Inn the Park!
My husband took our little family to this restaurant on Mother’s Day this year. It was a lovely (but cold) day, and was a perfect setting for a Mother’s Day brunch. Inn the Park is, as the name implies, in the middle of the lovely St. James’s Park, overlooking ‘duck lake’.
A couple weeks ago, with the warm summertime weather we were having, we went back for dinner on their terrace, and I was reminded of how much I love this restaurant. The tear-drop shape of the building was designed to fit into the ‘gently undulating landscape’ of London’s oldest royal park. You can’t see it from the road, and so it feels like a little treasure once you’re there. And surprisingly, this sleek restaurant is also extremely kid-friendly. (more…)
A blockhouse
Yesterday I came home from a busy day of work, and I found my kids playing with their building blocks and little people. My babysitter seriously has the most creative ideas: look how cute this ‘house’ is she came up with!
The blocks are just the old plain building blocks
Simple is best!
xxx Esther
Toy mirror
I have to admit this is not really my idea (it’s Esther’s), but one of the best toys to place in your baby’s playpen or cot is a baby mirror.
Babies are intrigued by their image (without knowing it’s their own), so it’s kind of logical to provide them with a mirror to play with. I didn’t have one when my son was a baby, but as soon as my daughter was born I got her one because I remembered how my son and Esther’s daughter were fascinated by the one in her playpen.
My daughter loves looking at herself in the mirror, pulling it, chewing it, but also looking behind it to see who is hiding in there – it’s so cute!
-Michela
Wooden kitchen
Last Christmas my parents gave my kids the ultimate ‘pretend play’ toy: a cute wooden kitchen with all the accessories. My parents clearly knew that there was no way we were going to lug this hefty thing from Seattle back to London with us, so it’s a toy for my kids to play with when they come to visit.
Well… we are currently in Seattle with my family, and I’m pretty sure there is no way I’ll be able to coax my kids back to London. And I don’t blame them – the kitchen is so cool, it puts my own kitchen to shame!
Complete with stove, sink, oven, cupboards, pots, pans and accessories, this kitchen has everything it needs to keep my kids entertained. And on top of that, it’s really cute, and much more modest in design than many of the others I’ve seen.
-Courtney
My prized possession
I was very lucky to know Courtney when my first daughter was born, as her son was 6 months older than my baby girl. This meant that whatever I needed to know, I could run straight to an expert, as she had learned everything about babies a few months earlier than I, and I could just profit from her newly acquired knowledge!
One of her tricks was something simple and yet I would never have thought of it on my own. She always carried a wide, long pashmina on her! Now I know they are not the most fashionable thing anymore but they are the most multi-functional item imaginable. You need to breastfeed in public? Throw the scarf over your shoulder and no one will notice. It suddenly gets cold? You have a blanket to put over the baby. Need to keep the sun out of your buggy? Throw the scarf over it. It can work as an emergency changing blanket on a park bench, and once we even used it as a swing to rock a little baby to sleep! A big long scarf has become my number one present for new moms. I quite like giving the mom herself a present, and if the baby can profit from it too I will have gotten 2 birds with one stone… (I think that is how the saying goes)!
- Emilie
Trainer chopsticks DIY
Courtney wrote about trainer chopsticks a while ago, and the ones she suggested are without a doubt very stylish and great for use at home!
If, however, you’re in a (Japanese) restaurant and – God forbid – forgot to bring your child’s fancy trainer chopsticks, I thought this solution might save your day…
It’s simple! Just make it with the throw-away chopsticks you get at the restaurant and an elastic band (the paper is in fact the rolled-up sleeve in which the chopsticks come)!
As seen in our favourite around-the-corner Japanese restaurant, Issa…
xxx Esther
Cooking with flowers
I’m spending the month of August on the Seiser Alm in the Dolomites region of Italy. It’s a lovely place and extremely kid friendly, so definitely worth a trip if you like the mountains and enjoy hiking. It’s full of little restaurant huts scattered throughout the valleys, where you can try many local delicacies… but there is one delicacy in particular that is truly unique.
At Gostner Schwaige, chef Franz Mulser does something very few people do: he cooks with flowers. Many flowers are in fact edible, and each of them has a particular flavour so they can be used in cooking – a bit like “regular” herbs. Franz has studied for sometime and has now developed a full menu where flowers play a decisive role. He picks what he finds locally and grows everything else he needs. All his dishes are extremely well balanced – a modern take on traditional recipes and local ingredients, and all of them involve the use of flowers.
The Little Red Hen
I’m not sure how common this story is in Europe, but having grown up in America I remember reading this classic folktale both at home and in school. I actually remember my mom using this story to her advantage every time she needed help around the house!
Surprisingly, up until now, I’ve never read this story to my own children… but now that my son is at the ripe ‘helping out’ age of three, I figured it was about time to start!
I was in New York last week, in a small town upstate, and I paid a visit to a charming little bookstore that featured local artists and authors. Jerry Pinkney happens to be one of their local artists, and this is how I discovered his version of The Little Red Hen
Not a onesie but a three-sie!
You just dressed up your baby in his cutest outfit, ready to go out to visit friends, when he starts screaming like crazy – he must and shall have a banana. Running late already, and trying to organize the nappy bag, snacks, jumpers, drinks, toys etc., you’re too busy to grab a bib, so you sort of throw the banana in his lap hoping that he will stop screaming – and pray for the best.
Not. Clever.
Five minutes later you’re changing your baby, who ended up completely covered in banana. You can’t find his second-cutest clothes — everything seems to be either in the laundry basket (and really too dirty to be pulled out) or has magically disappeared all together. Extremely frustrated with mostly yourself, you’re figuring out how you can blame your husband for all of this misfortune… (Well, honestly – do they EVER pack the nappy bag?)
No more of this, girls! I am totally in love with the concept of ‘bibs & match’. (more…)
Honfleur
Paris in the summer can get too much; it is hot, sticky, polluted and packed with people. The metro is unbearable and the boulevards become huge blazing heat tunnels, as there is nothing to block the sun.
Luckily enough, the sea and the little harbour town of Honfleur is only about 2 hours (and what feels like another world) away.
Though it doesn’t have its own beach, the village is centered on its own picture-perfect harbour and you can while away time wandering around the lovely little cobbled stone streets. If you feel like some beach fun you can find a long, sandy beach only 10 km away in Deauville. (more…)
Jack Purcell sneakers
I have been wearing Converse Chuck Taylor sneakers since I was 12, and believe me… that’s a long time! I’ve had them in many colours, low or high and I still have a pair in my closet. But this summer my Converse addiction could thrive with something new: Jack Purcell sneakers. They’ve been around for a while, but only made their appearance this season in many shops in Italy. They remind me a lot of the traditional Converse sneaker – the rubber end and the bright colours – but they have more of a grown-up feel to them. There seems to be greater care in the details and the insole is removable and very soft and comfy. 
I got mine in a very simple (and summery) white with a navy blue line in the front, but you can find them in many styles, patterns and materials (like the John Varvatos’ line). My husband has them in plain vintage canvas with an orange line at the front, and guess who is next in line for a pair? Their kid’s version is so cute!
-Michela
Aerolatte milk frother
I am starting to be known for serving a good cappuccino: good, strong coffee with perfectly foamed milk on top. The coffee comes from Illy, and the foam is the quick work of a handy little gadget called the Aerolatte
The Aerolatte is small, so it fits perfectly into the utensil drawer. It starts with one simple switch and takes about 2-3 minutes to froth the milk. (I use a stainless steal container to heat the milk on the stove.)
At-home cappuccinos have never been so easy.
Available through Amazon in the UK
-Courtney
